Die-on-interposer assembly with dam structure and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor package includes an interposer chip having a frontside, a backside, and a corner area on the backside defined by a first corner edge and a second corner edge of the interposer chip. A die is bonded to the frontside of the interposer chip. At least one dam structure is formed on the corner area of the backside of the interposer chip. The dam structure includes an edge aligned to at least one the first corner edge and the second corner edge of the interposer chip.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/938,821, entitled “Die-on-Interposer Assembly with Dam Structure andMethod of Manufacturing the Same,” filed on Jul. 10, 2013, whichapplication is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

A common requirement of current integrated circuit manufacturing andpackaging is the use of interposers to receive single or multipleintegrated circuit dies. The use of through vias or through silicon viasextending through the interposers is increasing. These through viasallow electrical coupling between integrated circuit dies and componentsmounted on one side of an interposer, and terminals such as solder ballsmounted on the opposite side of the interposer. Further, the through viatechnologies enable wafer level processing of the interposer assemblies.This technique is increasingly applicable to increasing memory orstorage device density, for example, without added circuit board area.As demand for hand held and portable devices such as smart phones andtablet computers increases, board area and board size restrictions alsoincrease, and the use of the interposer assemblies with through vias canmeet these requirements. These techniques apply to semiconductor wafers,where through via connections, conductive patterning for connectingcomponents, and component mounting may be performed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a top view of an interposer according to an embodiment;

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the interposer shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of adie-on-wafer assembly in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of backsidestructure of the semiconductor wafer shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 through 7 are bottom views illustrating intermediate stages inthe formation of dam structures on backside of the die-on-wafer assemblyin accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the die-on-interposerassembly shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of a die-oninterposer assembly on a substrate in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view illustrating the formation of dam structures onbackside of a die-on-wafer assembly in accordance with otherembodiments;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an individual assembly asshown in FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of a die-oninterposer assembly on a substrate in accordance with variousembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The making and using of the embodiments of the disclosure are discussedin detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the embodimentsprovide many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in awide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussedare merely illustrative, and do not limit the scope of the disclosure.

A die-on-interposer assembly with a dam structure and a method ofmanufacturing the same are provided in accordance with variousembodiments. The intermediate stages of forming a die-on-interposerassembly in accordance with embodiments are illustrated. The variationsof the embodiments are discussed. Throughout the various views andillustrative embodiments, like reference numbers are used to designatelike elements.

FIG. 1A illustrates a top view of an interposer according to anembodiment. FIG. 1B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the interposershown in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment, wherein the cross-sectionalview in FIG. 1B is taken along the line 1B-1B shown in FIG. 1A in FIG.1A. Referring to FIG. 1A, a semiconductor wafer 100 including aplurality of chip areas (or die areas) 10 with interconnect structuresand metal bumps manufactured thereon is provided. In an embodiment, thesemiconductor wafer 100 comprises an array of chip areas 10 separatedfrom each other by two sets of intersecting scribe line regions 12. Oneset of scribe line regions 12 extend along a first direction and asecond set of scribe line regions 12 extend along a second direction. Inaccordance with an embodiment, structures formed on the chip areas 10are described in detail below.

Referring to FIG. 1B, semiconductor processes are performed on thesemiconductor wafer 100 to form through substrate via (TSV) structure 16in a semiconductor substrate 14, interconnect structure 20 on thesemiconductor substrate 14, and metal bumps 30 on the interconnectstructures 20.

The semiconductor substrate 14 may include, for example, bulk silicon,doped or undoped, or an active layer of a semiconductor-on-insulator(SOI) substrate. Other substrates, such as a multi-layered or gradientsubstrate may also be used. The semiconductor substrate 14 includes afrontside 14A and a backside surface 14B. In some embodiments,electrical circuitry (not shown) is formed in and/or on the frontside14A of the semiconductor substrate 14. For example, the electricalcircuitry may include various active devices and/or passive devicesinterconnected to perform one or more functions. The active devices mayinclude N-type metal-oxide semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal-oxidesemiconductor (PMOS) devices and other types of transistors, and thepassive devices may include capacitors, resistors, diodes, photo-diodes,fuses, and the like. The performed functions may include memorystructures, processing structures, sensors, amplifiers, powerdistribution, input/output circuitry, or the like. In some embodiments,there is no active device formed in and/or on the frontside 14A of thesemiconductor substrate 14.

The TSV structures 16 are conductive vias extending from the frontside14A into a depth of the semiconductor substrate 14. In some embodiments,the TSV structure 16 includes a metal via, and a barrier layer liningthe sidewalls of the metal via. The metal via may be formed of copper,copper alloy, tungsten, tungsten alloy or the like. The barrier layer(not shown) functions as a diffusion barrier and may be formed ofrefractory metals, refractory metal-nitrides, refractorymetal-silicon-nitrides and combinations thereof. For example, TaN, Ta,Ti, TiN, TiSiN, WN, or combinations thereof may be used. In someembodiments, an insulation layer 18 is formed between the TSV structure16 and the semiconductor substrate 14 so as to isolate the TSV structure16 from other connections formed in the semiconductor substrate 14. Theinsulation layer 18 may include an oxide layer formed by thermaloxidation process or using any of a variety of techniques, includingSACVD (sub-atmospheric chemical vapor deposition), PECVD(plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition), PEALD (plasma-enhancedatomic layer deposition), and future-developed deposition procedures.

The interconnect structure 20 is formed over semiconductor substrate 14,and is used to electrically connect to the TSV structures 16 andelectrical circuitry formed in the semiconductor substrate 14. Theinterconnect structure 20 may include a plurality of dielectrics layers22, metal lines 24 and metal vias 26. The dielectric layers 22 mayinclude interlayer dielectric (ILD) and/or inter-metal dielectric(IMDs). The metal lines 24 are formed in dielectric layers 22, whereinthe metal lines 24 that are in a same dielectric layer 22 are incombination referred to as a metal layer. The metal vias 26 are formedbetween, and interconnecting, metal lines 24 in different metal layers.In an embodiment, the dielectric layers 22 includes at least one, andpossibly a plurality of, low-k dielectric layer(s) having low dielectricconstant (k) values. The k values of the low-k dielectric materials inthe dielectric layer 22 may be lower than about 3.0, or lower than about2.5, for example. The interconnect structure 20 further includespassivation layer(s) 28 over the dielectric layers 22 according to someembodiments. Additional layers such as polyimide layers (not shown),post-passivation interconnects (PPIs, not shown), may also be formed onand/or in the passivation layer(s) 28.

The first bump structures 30 are formed over and electrically connectedto the interconnect structure 20. In some embodiment, the first bumpstructures 30 are copper bumps, solder bumps or combinations thereof. Inalternative embodiments, each first bump structure 30 includes a copperpost and a solder cap, wherein a nickel layer and gold layer, apalladium layer or combinations thereof can be added between the copperpost and the solder cap.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of adie-on-wafer assembly, in which dies 40 are bonded to the chip areas 10of the semiconductor wafer 100, respectively. In an embodiment, the dies40 are attached to the chip areas 10 through flip-chip bonding, in whichsecond bump structures 42 of the dies 40 are bonded to the first bumpstructures 30 of the semiconductor wafer 100. The dies 40 may be devicedies including logic circuit dies, memory dies, or the like, or may bepackages including a die bonded to an interposer, a package substrate,and/or the like. Underfill 46 is dispensed into the space between dies40 and the semiconductor wafer 100 in accordance with some embodiments,and then the underfill 46 is cured. Next, a polymer layer 48 is moldedon the dies 40 and semiconductor wafer 100. In an embodiment, thepolymer layer 48 is molding compound, epoxy, or the like. The polymerlayer 48 may cover the dies 40, the underfill 46 and the passivationlayer 28. In an embodiment, after the curing of the polymer layer 48, aplanarization step, such as a grinding, is performed to level the topsurface of polymer layer 48. The top surface 48A of remaining portion ofpolymer layer 48 may be higher than, or level with the backside surfaces40B of dies 40. The structure shown in FIG. 2 is a die-on-wafer assembly200 wherein the dies 40 is bonded to the semiconductor wafer 100 thatfunctions as an interposer wafer.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of backsidestructure of the semiconductor wafer 100. The die-on-wafer assembly 200shown in FIG. 3 is flipped upside down, and semiconductor substrate 14faces upwardly. A backside grinding is performed on the backside surface14B of semiconductor substrate 14 to thin down the semiconductorsubstrate 14, until the TSV structures 16 are exposed. Dielectriclayer(s) 50 and third bump structures 52 are formed on the backsidesurface 14B of semiconductor substrate 14, in which the third bumpstructures 52 are formed on the chip areas 10 and electrically coupledto the TSV structures 16 in accordance with some embodiments. In anembodiment, the third bump structures 52 are solder bumps.Redistribution lines (RDLs, not shown) may be optionally formed onand/or in the dielectric layer(s) 50, wherein the formation process maybe similar to the formation of the metal lines and vias in dielectriclayers 30. The third bump structures 52 may be used to bond to anadditional electrical component (not shown), which may be a packagesubstrate, a printed circuit board (PCB), or the like. For example, thediameter of the third bump structure 58 is greater than the diameter ofthe first bump structure 30 or the diameter of the second bump structure42.

FIGS. 4 through 7 are bottom views illustrating intermediate stages inthe formation of dam structures on the backside of the die-on-waferassembly 200 in accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the die-on-wafer assembly 200, on which anarray of third bump structures 52 is formed on each chip area 10 on thebackside of the semiconductor wafer 100. The neighboring chip areas 10are separated by the scribe line regions 12, and the scribe line regions12 form crossed portions 12A on which dam structures will be provided.Each chip area 10 includes four corner areas 10C adjacent to the crossedportions 12A, and the subsequently formed dam structures will extend tothe four corner areas 10C according to some embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 5, dam structures 60 are formed on the backside of thesemiconductor wafer 100. In an embodiment, the dam structures 60 areformed on the dielectric layer(s) 50 adjacent to some bump structures52, without electrically connecting to the interconnect structure 20.The dam structures 60 are located on the crossed portions 12A andextending to corner areas 10C of neighboring chip areas 10, forming agrid array of dam structures 60 on the backside of the die-on-waferassembly 200. The dam structure 60 has a width (W_(d)) greater than orequal to the width (W_(s)) of the scribe line region 12. For example,W_(d)≥80 μm. In some embodiments, the width (W_(d)) is greater than orequal to the width (W_(b)) of the third bump structure 52. For example,W_(d)≥(1˜4)* W_(b). The dam structure 60 has a height that may be asmuch as, or somewhat smaller than, the height (H_(b)) of the third bumpstructure 52. The material for the dam structure 60 may be selected fromvarious materials compatible with wafer level processing and packaging,provided it has high adhesive properties. In an embodiment, the damstructure 60 is formed of a polymer material. For example, dispensedliquid material such as an epoxy or resin and the like may be used. Acuring step may be performed to cure the dam structure 60. In someembodiments, the dam structures 60 will partially remain on the chipareas 10 after a subsequent dicing process so as to control the gapbetween the assembly and another substrate. In some embodiments, the damstructures 60 may be considered as “stress relief features” that canform supports between the neighboring chip areas 10 and create a gridmatrix to reduce or eliminate wafer-form warpage.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, a dicing process is performed on the scribeline regions 12 to separate individual assemblies 300 from each other,and accordingly the chip areas 10 of the wafer 100 are diced into aplurality of interposer chips 10A bonded to the respective dies 40. Forexample, a blade or laser is used in the dicing process. In at least oneembodiment, the individual assembly 300 includes the die 40 bonded tothe interposer chip 10A for connecting the die 40 to another substrate,so that the individual assembly 300 is also considered as adie-on-interposer assembly 300. During the dicing process, each damstructure 60 is cut into four portions 60A remaining on the four cornerareas 10C of the interposer chip 10A, and thus the remaining portions60A function as dam structures on the backside of the die-on-interposerassembly 300. As shown in FIG. 7, in the die-on-interposer assembly 300,the dam structures 60A are formed on the four corner areas 10C of theinterposer chip 10A, in which four corner areas 10C are defined by apair of first corner edges 10A₁ and second corner edges 10A₂.Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the outer edges 60A₁ and 60A₂ of thedam structure 60A are substantially aligned to the corner edges 10A₁ and10A₂ of the interposer chip 10A.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the die-on-interposerassembly 300 shown in FIG. 7, wherein the third bump structures 52 anddam structures 60A face upwardly. Unless specified otherwise, thereference numerals in these embodiments represent like elements in theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1˜3. In the die-on-interposer assembly300, the die 40 is bonded onto the frontside 10A_(f) of the interposerchip 10A and surrounded by the polymer layer 48, the bump structures 52are formed on the backside 10A_(b) of the interposer chip 10A, and thedam structures 60A are formed on the corner areas 10C at the backside10A_(b) of the interposer chip 10A. The corner area 10C is defined bythe corner edges 10A₁ and 10A₂. In an embodiment, the outer edge 60A₁ or60A₂ of the dam structure 60A is substantially aligned to the corneredges 10A₁ of the interposer chip 10A. In an embodiment, outer edge 60A₁or 60A₂ of the dam structure 60A is substantially aligned to the outeredges 48A₁ of the polymer layer 48.

Other packaging processes can be followed after the completion of theformation of dam structures 60A on the die-on-interposer assembly 300.FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of a die-oninterposer assembly on a substrate in accordance with variousembodiments. Unless specified otherwise, the reference numerals in theseembodiments represent like elements in the embodiments illustrated inFIGS. 1˜3. The die-on-interposer assembly 300 is attached to a substrate400 to form a semiconductor package 500. The substrate 400 may be anorganic substrate, a circuit board, a dielectric substrate or asemiconductor substrate with high-density interconnects. In anembodiment, the substrate 400 is a printed circuit board (PCB) made offiberglass or a similar material and including electrical wires printedonto the board for connecting various components and packages. Thedie-on-interposer assembly 300 is electrically coupled to the substrate400 by connecting the third bump structures 52 to connectors 402 on thesubstrate 400. In some embodiments, the connectors 402 are formed ofcopper, copper alloy, tin, tin alloy, gold, nickel, palladium, orcombinations thereof. Optionally a reflow process is performed to jointthe third bump structures 52 and the connectors 402 respectively. In theresulted package 500, the dam structures 60A contact the substrate 400according to some embodiments. The dam structure 60A becomes an obstacleto control the gap between the assembly 300 and the substrate 400 andtherefore prevent bump bridging during the reflow process and/or bumpcrack during the reflow cooling process due to CTE (coefficient ofthermal expansion) mismatch and warpage mismatch between the interposerchip 10A and the substrate 400. Compared with approaches of dispensingepoxy dams on a package substrate with surface condition deviation, thepresent disclosure provides the dam structures 60 on dielectric layer(s)of the wafer-form assembly 200 before attaching to the substrate 400such that the height and width of the dam structures are more easilycontrolled and the throughput and stability of the dam formation aresignificant improved.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view illustrating the formation of dam structures onbackside of a die-on-wafer assembly in accordance with otherembodiments. Unless specified otherwise, the reference numerals in theseembodiments represent like elements in the embodiments illustrated inFIGS. 4˜7. Dam structures 70 are provided on corner areas 10C ofneighboring chip areas 10, forming a grid array of dam structures 70 onthe backside of the die-on-wafer assembly 200. In an embodiment, thewidth (W_(d)) is equal to the width (W_(b)) of the third bump structure52. In some embodiments, the width (W_(d)) is greater than or less thanthe width (W_(b)) of the third bump structure 52. The dam structure 70has a height that may be as much as, or somewhat smaller than, theheight (H_(b)) of the third bump structure 52. In an embodiment, the damstructure 70 is formed of a polymer material. For example, dispensedliquid material such as an epoxy or resin and the like may be used. Acuring step may be performed to cure the dam structures 70.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an individual assembly300″ separated from the die-on-wafer assembly 200 as shown in FIG. 10.Unless specified otherwise, the reference numerals in these embodimentsrepresent like elements in the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 7. Afterperforming a dicing process on the scribe line regions 12, a pluralityof die-on-interposer assemblies 300″ are separated. In at least oneembodiment, the individual assembly 300″ includes the die 40 bonded tothe interposer chip 10A for connecting the die 40 to another substrate,and includes at least one dam structure 70 on the backside corner area10C of the interposer chip 10A.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the formation of a die-oninterposer assembly 300″ on a substrate 400 in accordance with variousembodiments. Unless specified otherwise, the reference numerals in theseembodiments represent like elements in the embodiments illustrated inFIG. 9. The die-on-interposer assembly 300″ is attached to a substrate400 to form a semiconductor package 500″. The die-on-interposer assembly300″ is electrically coupled to the substrate 400 by connecting thethird bump structures 52 to connectors 402 on the substrate 400.Optionally a reflow process is performed to join the third bumpstructures 52 and the connectors 402 respectively. In the resultedpackage 500″, the dam structures 70 contact the substrate 400 accordingto some embodiments. The dam structure 70 becomes an obstacle to controlthe gap between the assembly 300″ and the substrate 400.

According to some embodiments, a semiconductor package includes aninterposer chip having a frontside, a backside, and a corner area on thebackside defined by a first corner edge and a second corner edge of theinterposer chip; a die bonded to the frontside of the interposer chip;and at least one dam structure on the corner area of the backside of theinterposer chip. The dam structure includes an edge aligned to at leastone the first corner edge and the second corner edge of the interposerchip.

According to some embodiments, a method of forming an assemblyincluding: receiving a wafer having a frontside, a backside, and aplurality of chip areas separated by scribe line regions; bonding a dieto the frontside of the wafer to form a die-on-wafer assembly; forming aplurality of dam structures on crossed portions of the scribe lineregions on the backside of the wafer; and performing a dicing process onthe scribe line regions to separate the die-on-wafer assembly into aplurality of individual assemblies.

According to some embodiments, a semiconductor package includes aninterposer chip having a frontside, a backside, and four corner areas onthe backside defined by a pair of first corner edges and second corneredges of the interposer chip; a die bonded to the frontside of theinterposer chip; a polymer layer formed on the frontside of theinterposer chip and surrounding the die; four polymer dam structures onthe four corner areas of the backside of the interposer chip, whereineach of the four polymer dam structures includes a first edge aligned tothe first corner edge of the interposer chip, and a second edge alignedto the second corner edge of the interposer chip; and a substrate bondedto the backside of the interposer chip, wherein the four polymer damstructures are positioned between the substrate and the interposer chip.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to example embodiments thereof, a skilled person in theart will appreciate that there can be many embodiment variations of thisdisclosure. Although the embodiments and their features have beendescribed in detail, it should be understood that various changes,substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the embodiments.

The above method embodiments show exemplary steps, but they are notnecessarily required to be performed in the order shown. Steps may beadded, replaced, changed order, and/or eliminated as appropriate, inaccordance with the spirit and scope of embodiment of the disclosure.Embodiments that combine different claims and/or different embodimentsare within scope of the disclosure and will be apparent to those skilledin the art after reviewing this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: bonding a die to a chip areaon a frontside of a wafer to form a die-on-wafer assembly, the waferhaving the frontside and a backside, the chip area being surrounded byscribe line regions, the chip area comprising four corner areas; forminga dam structure in each of the four corner areas on the backside of thewafer; and performing a dicing process on the scribe line regions,wherein after performing the dicing process, each of the four cornerareas of the chip area includes at least a portion of one of the damstructures, each of the remaining portions of the dam structures beingat least a part of a circle in a plane parallel to the backside of thewafer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dam structures are formedto extend to the four corner areas.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereineach of the remaining portions of the dam structures comprise an edgealigned with an outer edge of the individual assembly after performingthe dicing process.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the damstructure comprises dispensing a liquid polymer material.
 5. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: forming a plurality of bump structures onthe backside of the wafer before forming the dam structure.
 6. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: at least laterally encapsulatingthe die with a molding layer, the molding layer on the frontside of thewafer.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the molding layer comprises apolymer.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the molding layer comprisesan outer edge aligned with an edge of at least one of the damstructures.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the wafer comprises: asemiconductor substrate having a first side and a second side oppositeto the first side; a through substrate via penetrating the semiconductorsubstrate; an interconnect structure formed on the first side of thesemiconductor substrate and electrically connected to the throughsubstrate via; and a plurality of bump structures formed on the secondside of the semiconductor substrate and electrically connected to thethrough substrate via.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the damstructures are not electrically connected to the through substrate via.11. A method comprising: forming a plurality of conductive bumpstructures on a backside of a chip, the chip having a frontside, abackside, and a corner area on the backside defined by a first corneredge and a second corner edge of the chip, an intersection of the firstcorner edge and the second corner edge being a first distance from anearest conductive bump structure of the plurality of conductive bumpstructures; bonding a die to the frontside of the chip; and forming atleast one dam structure on the corner area of the backside of the chip,the at least one dam structure comprising an edge aligned to at leastone of the first corner edge and the second corner edge of the chip. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one dam structure extendsalong the first corner edge a second distance, and the dam structureextending along the second corner edge a third distance, the seconddistance and the third distance each being less than or equal to thefirst distance, the at least one dam structure comprising at least apart of a sphere extending from the backside of the chip.
 13. The methodof claim 11 further comprising: forming a polymer layer on the frontsideof the chip and surrounding the die.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinthe polymer layer comprises an outer edge aligned with the edge of thedam structure.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one damstructure comprises polymer.
 16. The method of claim 11 furthercomprising: bonding a substrate to the backside of the chip, the atleast one dam structure being located in a gap between the substrate andthe chip.
 17. A structure comprising: a wafer having a frontside and abackside, the wafer comprising four corner areas; a die bonded to thefrontside of the wafer to form a die-on-wafer assembly; and a damstructure in each of the four corner areas on the backside of the wafer,each of the dam structures being at least a part of a circle in a planeparallel to the backside of the wafer.
 18. The structure of claim 17further comprising: a plurality of conductive bump structures on thebackside of the wafer.
 19. The structure of claim 17 further comprising:a molding layer on the frontside of the wafer and at least laterallysurrounding the die.
 20. The structure of claim 17, wherein the wafercomprises: a semiconductor substrate having a first side and a secondside opposite to the first side; a through substrate via penetrating thesemiconductor substrate; an interconnect structure formed on the firstside of the semiconductor substrate and electrically connected to thethrough substrate via; and a plurality of bump structures formed on thesecond side of the semiconductor substrate and electrically connected tothe through substrate via.